Revelation Book 2

Verily thus
saith the Lord in addition to the Laws of the church concerning women and
Children those who belong to the church who have lost their husbands
or fathers women have claim on their husbands until their husbands
are taken and if they are not found transgressors they shall have
fellowship in the church and if they are not faithful
they shall not have fellowship in the church yet they may remain upon
their inheritences according to the laws of the Land all children have
claim upon there parents for there maintanence until they are of age
and after that they have claim upon the church or in other words upon the
store house which shall be replenished by the consecrations if their
parents have not wherewith to give them inheritencs and the
storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the church that widows
and orphans shall be provided for as also the poor— Amen

Hearken and
hear oh ye my people saith your Lord and your God ye whom I delight to
bless with the greatest blessing ye that hear me and ye that hear me
not will I curse that have professed my name with the heaviest of all
cursings, Hearken O ye Elders of my church whom I have called be hold I
give unto you a commandment that ye shall assemble yourselves
together to agree upon my word by the prayer of your faith ye shall
receive my law that ye may know to govern my church and have all things
right before me and I will be your ruler and ye shall see that my law
is kept he that receiveth my law
[p. 93]

Verily thus
saith the Lord in addition to the Laws of the church concerning women and
Children those who belong to the church who have lost their husbands
or fathers women have claim on their husbands until their husbands
are taken and if they are not found transgressors they shall have
fellowship in the church and <if> they are not faithful
they shall not have fellowship in the church yet they may remain upon
their inheritences according to the laws of the Land all children have
claim upon there parents for there maintanence until they are of age
and after that they have claim upon the church or in other words upon the
store house which shall be replenished by the consecrations if their
parents have not wherewith to give them inheritencs and the
storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the church that widows
and orphans shall be provided for as also the poor— Amen

Hearken and
hear oh ye my people saith your Lord and your God ye whom I delight to
bless with the greatest blessing ye that hear me and ye that hear me
not will I curse that have professed my name with the heaviest of all
cursings, Hearken O ye Elders of my church whom I have called be hold I
give unto you a commandment that ye shall assemble yourselves
together to agree upon my word by the prayer of your faith ye shall
receive my law that ye may know to govern my church and have all things
right before me and I will be your ruler and ye shall see that my law
is kept he that receiveth my law
[p. 93]

Items were copied into the manuscript book over a period of almost three years,
from late February or early March
1832 to late 1834. Internal evidence, historical context, and comparison
with other manuscript revelations suggest approximate dates that many items
were copied. Specific dates are known for several other items, such as a single
journal entry recorded 8 March 1832.2

Only three revelations dated before
1831 were copied into the manuscript book.

Some items
within Revelation Book 2 contain ink or graphite editing marks made to prepare
them for printing in publications such as the
1835–1836 reprint of The
Evening and the Morning Star and the 1835
Doctrine and Covenants.4

Similar marks appear in Revelation Book 1, which is
even more heavily marked. Revelation Book 2 was used for the preparation of the
1835 Doctrine and Covenants circa 1834–1835 in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

The first item
in the manuscript book, titled “The Vision” and dated
16 February 1832, commands
JS and
Sidney
Rigdon

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

In fact, all of the revelatory items copied into the
manuscript book appear to be copies from earlier manuscripts, not the original
dictated versions, and more than half are in chronological order.
Frederick G. Williams

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

The first two
items in Revelation Book 2 (manuscript pages 1–10) were most likely copied
between 16 February 1832, the date the first
item bears, and 8 March 1832, the date the
third item bears. The revelations on manuscript pages 11–19 were likely copied
before JS left
Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

, as commanded in a revelation in
this portion of the manuscript book. JS dictated several revelations while in
Missouri, but his scribes did not copy them into the manuscript book when he
returned to
Ohio

French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut Western...

in early
summer 1832. One of these
revelations, dated 30 April 1832, was
eventually copied into the manuscript book circa 1834. A second revelation, dated
26 April 1832, was never copied into
Revelation Book 2, although it was copied into Revelation Book 1 shortly after
the date it bears.

The next two
revelations in the manuscript book (manuscript pages 19–31) are dated
August and September
1832, and both are signed by
Frederick G. Williams

, who served as a
scribe for
JS during this period. He likely copied these
revelations into Revelation Book 2 shortly after they were initially recorded.
The next four revelations (manuscript pages 31–48), the first of which was
signed by Williams as both scribe and counselor to JS, were likely copied after
Williams was appointed as counselor, which occurred by 22 January 1833.9

Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,”
1832–1837. CHL. Also
available at josephsmithpapers.org.

Hyde likely copied these
revelations before he left on a proselytizing mission to
Pennsylvania

Area first settled by Swedish immigrants, 1628. William Penn received grant for territory from King Charles II, 1681, and established British settlement, 1682. Philadelphia was center of government for original thirteen U.S. colonies from time of Revolutionary...

The next revelation (manuscript pages 71–72)
was copied by
Oliver
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

The next ten
revelations (manuscript pages 83–97) are dated
between October 1830 and the end
of April 1832 and are not in chronological order. While three of the ten
had been published previously (one in the 1833 Book of Commandments15

), the presence of
the other seven appears to be the result of an effort to collect revelations
that were not in print by 1834. All are dated
several years before they were copied into Revelation Book 2, and four of them
were not included in the Book of Commandments although they were available for
publication. Of these ten revelations, nine were later published in the 1835
Doctrine and Covenants.17

, the scribe for all ten
revelations, might have coped this portion of the manuscript book in
late 1833 or
early 1834, internal and
external evidence suggests that he copied the revelations following his return
from the “Camp of Israel

A group of approximately 205 men and about 20 women and children led by JS to Missouri, May–July 1834, to redeem Zion by helping the Saints who had been driven from Jackson County, Missouri, regain their lands; later referred to as “Zion’s Camp.” A 24 February...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

in 1834
(later known as “Zion’s Camp”). August 1834 is
the most probable copying date for two reasons. First, Williams erroneously
dated one revelation “August 20” rather than “May 20,” suggesting that he
copied it into the manuscript book in August.18

Second, a committee to publish the revelations was
appointed by late September 1834, indicating
that church leaders had begun to plan for another publication of the
revelations by that time, possibly as early as
August.19

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

penned the next nine revelations
(manuscript pages 97–120), perhaps as part of the continued attempt to collect
revelations for publication. Hyde provided
late August 1834 as the
date he finished copying three of these revelations.20

Following these, only five revelations were copied into the manuscript book,
four dated earlier than August 1834 and one
dated 25 November 1834. These last five were
likely copied before the end of 1834, but
the copying dates are unknown.

Though space
remained, scribes copied no additional revelations into Revelation Book 2. It
is unknown why later revelations were not copied or who possessed the book from
1834 to 1843. Revelations of that
period were recorded in other places, such as
JS’s journals. When working on JS’s history in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

used three blank leaves in the
back of Revelation Book 2 to record information not incorporated into the
history, often citing sources for the new material.

In addition to
marking corrections, those preparing the items in Revelation Book 2 for
publication pinned into the manuscript book slips of paper that contained
additions or clarifications to the original text. Two such slips are extant in
Revelation Book 2, and they are transcribed as separate leaves where they
appear in the manuscript book. Elsewhere in Revelation Book 2, visible pinholes
likely mark where additional slips were fastened to the page as texts were
copied or prepared for publication.21

See
here
for an example of a slip of paper that was pinned to the page. A series of
pinholes is also visible on
manuscript page 69.

These marks, which suggest how the manuscript book was created, are identified
in the textual annotation.

The leaf
containing pages 54–55 of
JS’s March–September 1838 journal, entitled “Scriptory
Book,” was torn from that journal and inserted into Revelation Book 2, probably
in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century when revelations from
different locations in the Church Historian’s Office were assembled into one
collection. That leaf is no longer in Revelation Book 2; it remains separated
from the journal and is in the Revelations Collection. The leaf includes two
revelations dated 8 July 1838 and is
transcribed in its original location in the first volume of the Journals
series. A document related to the history-writing effort in
Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

was also inserted
into Revelation Book 2 at some point, thereby becoming associated with the book
though not physically part of it.

Note: At
present, the transcript of Revelation Book 2 on this website includes only the
original inscriptions, not the later redactions made to the manuscript book to
prepare the revelations for publication. A transcript showing the later
redactions will eventually be added to this site. Until that time, readers will
notice many discrepancies between the images and the transcript. For a
transcript that includes the redactions, consult Revelations and
Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile ed. (Salt Lake
City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009) or Revelations and Translations,
Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books (Salt Lake City: Church
Historian’s Press, 2011).

Except as
described in this note, Revelation Book 2 is presented here electronically as a
complete record. In contrast, the
Documents
series
presents each revelation separately, placed in chronological order with other
documents of various genres. That series includes the earliest and best extant
version of each revelation, providing contextual annotation and a historical
introduction for each. Readers should consult the Documents series for
information about the setting and significance of individual revelations.

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

, and an unknown number of unidentified scribes in later redactions
only; 121 pages and two inserted leaves; Revelations Collection, CHL. Includes
redactions and archival marking. Volume also contains
Willard Richards

and William W. Phelps, “Facts left
out Re[g]istered herei[n],” Notes for JS History, [Nauvoo

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

This volume
consists of 152 leaves—including three flyleaves in the front, three flyleaves
in the back, and two pastedowns—measuring 1115/16 x 7⅝
inches (30 x 19 cm). There are twelve gatherings of twelve leaves each. All but the pastedowns and flyleaves are ruled
paper with thirty-four horizontal lines in faded blue-green ink. The text block
is sewn all along over recessed cords, and the front and back covers of the
volume are pasteboard. The book has a tight-back case binding with a brown
calfskin quarter-leather binding. The outside covers are adorned in shell
marbled paper, with red and black body and veins of green. The bound volume
measures 12¼ x 7⅞ x
15/16 inches (31 x 19 x
2 cm).
The front cover of the book is labeled “Book of Revelatio[ns] |
<A>
| <B>” in black ink. An
“A” was written over the inserted “A”. The inserted “B” is written in a formal
style that matches the covers of other manuscript volumes in the CHL’s
holdings.1

The inside front cover has “c c/i | pep” or “c c/i | pe/=” written in graphite
pencil. Although this notation was written at an unknown time, similar markings
appear in at least three other extant volumes.2

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Record / Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. “A Record of the Transactions of the Twelve Apostles of the
Church of the Latter Day Saints from the Time of Their Call to the Apostleship
Which Was on the 14th Day of Feby. AD 1835,”
Feb.–Aug. 1835. In Patriarchal Blessings, 1833–, vol. 2. CHL.

These
may be merchandising notations. A slip of white paper pasted on the spine reads
“KIRTLAND REVELATIONS”.

Affixed
to the inside front cover is a half-page sheet containing an index of the
volume’s contents through manuscript page 47. The partial index, written on cut
ruled paper measuring 7¾ × 7⅝ inches (20 × 19 cm), was attached to the inside
front cover with an adhesive wafer on each corner. The two upper wafers are now
detached. On the verso of the index, “FGW” is written in the upper left-hand
corner and a “J”, “I”, or “T” is centered along the top. What appears to be an
“L” is written close to the bottom of the page. The index, which was inscribed
by
Frederick G. Williams

, was likely begun
before the revelation that begins at the bottom of manuscript page 13 was
inscribed. All seven index entries up to that point appear to have been written
in one sitting in the same ink flow, while the remaining entries indicate a
continually updated index rather than a retrospective index. Williams
interlineated the final three index entries (two for manuscript page 33 and one
for manuscript page 37) where there was space in the existing text of the
index, likely because no space remained at the bottom of the page. Three blank
flyleaves follow the index.

The
first fifteen pages contain six revelations, one vision, and one journal-like
note that were copied into the book as early as February 1832. These eight items are dated
circa March 1831–March 1832
and do not appear in chronological order. Manuscript pages 15–83 contain
twenty-two revelations and one song, dated
March 1832–December 1833, that
are largely in chronological order. Manuscript pages 83–97 contain ten items,
dated October 1830–April 1832,
that were copied into the volume out of chronological order sometime before
summer 1834. Manuscript pages
97–116 contain six items, dated February 1834–November 1834, that are out of
chronological order. Manuscript pages 117–120 contain three items dated
1830, 23 February
1831, and June 1829. The first two of
these items were copied into the manuscript book at the same time. The final
copied revelation is followed by eighty-one blank leaves, three leaves of
historical notes, three blank flyleaves, and one final pastedown.

Revelation
Book 2 was used for the preparation of the 1835
Doctrine and Covenants circa
1834–1835 in
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

,
Ohio. Because there is no known reference to this book in church records from
1836 to 1843—when the church’s
headquarters moved from Kirtland to
Far
West

Originally called Shoal Creek. Located fifty-five miles northeast of Independence. Surveyed 1823; first settled by whites, 1831. Site purchased, 8 Aug. 1836, before Caldwell Co. was organized for Latter-day Saints in Missouri. William W. Phelps and John Whitmer...

Principal gathering place for Saints following expulsion from Missouri. Beginning in 1839, LDS church purchased lands in earlier settlement of Commerce and planned settlement of Commerce City, as well as surrounding areas. Served as church headquarters, 1839...

turned the manuscript book
upside down and used three blank leaves at the back of the volume for notations
about their history-writing effort. The title on the back cover, partially worn
off and written in black ink that later turned brown, reflects this usage:
“Facts left out | Re[g]istered | herei[n]”. Revelation Book 2 is listed on the
Church Historian’s Office 1846 inventory as “Book of ‘Revelations B.’”
Subsequent inventories have listed similar titles, indicating continuous
custody.3

Revelation Book
2 is a manuscript book of revelations and other texts copied into the book over
a period of almost three years, from as early as
February 1832 to late 1834.
The February and March 1832
revelations, as well as other documents transcribed on pages 1–19 of Revelation
Book 2, were likely copied before
JS left
Hiram

Area settled by immigrants from Pennsylvania and New England, ca. 1802. Located in northeastern Ohio about twenty-five miles southeast of Kirtland. Population in 1830 about 500. Population in 1840 about 1,100. JS lived in township at home of John and Alice...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

, who served as a
scribe for JS during this period. He likely copied these revelations into the
book shortly after they were initially recorded. The December 1832 and January
1833 revelations, the first of which was signed by Williams as both
scribe and counselor to JS, were likely copied after Williams was appointed as
counselor, which occurred by 22 January
1833.4

Minute Book 1 / “Conference A,”
1832–1837. CHL. Also
available at josephsmithpapers.org.

Ten items
within the book (manuscript pages 83–97) are dated between
October 1830 and the end of April
1832. While three of the ten had been published previously,5

Revelation, 4 Feb. 1831, in Book
of Commandments 43
[D&C 41]; Revelation, 30 Oct. 1831,
in “A Revelation on Prayer, Given October 30, 1831,” The Evening and the
Morning Star, Sept.
1832,
[2] [D&C 65]; Revelation, 30 Apr. 1832,
in “Items in Addition to the Laws for the Government of the Church of Christ,
Given April, 1832,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833,
[6] [D&C 83].

the presence of the other seven items appears to be
the result of an effort to collect revelations that were not in print
by 1834. All are dated several years before
they were copied into Revelation Book 2, and four of them were not included in
the Book of Commandments although they were available for publication. Of these
ten items, nine were later published in the 1835
Doctrine and Covenants.6

Note: At
present, the transcript of Revelation Book 2 on this website includes only the
original inscriptions, not the later redactions made to the manuscript book to
prepare the revelations for publication. A transcript showing the later
redactions will eventually be added to this site. Until that time, readers will
notice many discrepancies between the images and the transcript. For a
transcript that includes the redactions, consult Revelations and
Translations: Manuscript Revelation Books, facsimile ed. (Salt Lake
City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009) or Revelations and Translations,
Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books (Salt Lake City: Church
Historian’s Press, 2011).

Except
as described in this note, Revelation Book 2 is presented here electronically
as a complete record. In contrast, the
Documents
series
presents each revelation separately, placed in chronological order with other
documents of various genres. That series includes the earliest and best extant
version of each revelation, providing contextual annotation and a historical
introduction for each. Readers should consult the Documents series for
information about the setting and significance of individual revelations.